STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Two ex-cons from Meiers Corners found themselves back in handcuffs after police caught them in a stolen car Tuesday night, authorities allege.

James Griffin, 26, of Mann Avenue, and Anthony Bowden, 22, of the 200 block of Bradley Avenue, were arrested after police spotted Griffin drinking a 24-ounce Bud Light behind the wheel of a stolen 2008 Volkswagen convertible, its roof down, at the corner of Area Place and Croak Avenue at about 7:20 p.m. court papers allege.

Bowden, who had a marijuana cigarette in his hand, was sitting in the passenger seat, police said.

As police approached, they heard Bowden tell Griffin, “You’ve got to get me out of this. I’m on probation. I’m [expletive] just for being here,” a law enforcement source said.

Bowden, a registered sex offender, is on probation for a November 2007 sexual abuse arrest, when he was 19 years old and charged with statutory rape after having sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl who resided at a community residence near his home, according to law enforcement sources.

He was also arrested this past January on kidnapping allegations, but that case has since been sealed.

Griffin, meanwhile, spent a year in jail after his arrest in 2007 on charges he stole an off-duty police officer’s SUV in Eltingville, then crashed it into a house as he tried to escape its rightful owner.

Both men face charges of fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and third-degree unauthorized use of a vehicle. Griffin also faces charges of consumption of alcohol in a public place, while Bowden is additionally charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of marijuana.

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